Take Care of Students AND yourself!

The past year of school has certainly been like nothing we have seen in our lifetimes.  The pandemic has shut down businesses, the Court System, family gathering and schools.  The tremendous population of administrators, teachers and students in our schools, although not always in the brick and mortar buildings, must to carry on.

The isolation from friends, staying at alternative places so that parents can work as much as possible, and working from home…make for a lonely day for some.  Both adults and students are social creatures and crave interaction.

The challenge is to maintain a challenging and engaging learning platform so as not to cross the threshold of boredom, apathy, indifference, and depression.

There are reports that occurrences of student depression and even suicide are on the rise.  It is safe to say that it is not always easy to determine the mental state of an individual on the other end of a video conference meeting…that’s why it is so very important to find ways to “engage” students in conversation in class meeting time.  Some things one might try is to use tools that engage student feedback, like Kahoot, Quizizz, Nearpod, Google Classroom questions, Screencastify and Flip Grid.  Be enthusiastic while on screen.  Ask questions and call on students to unmute and respond…validate their answers so that they are comfortable participating.  If students seem overly withdrawn or start missing classes, call the parent, confer with Guidance and Mental Health Counselors in your building, and be a part of the team that does something about a problem. 

The next big part is for the staff members:  don’t forget to take care of yourself.  The previously mentioned issues can just as easily affect you.  Interact safely with colleagues if in the building.  Call and talk to folks.  Check on family members.  Check on your friends and elderly neighbors. 

Ask for assistance in technical or technology issues, do Google Meets, Zooms or Microsoft Team meetings with friends.

Don’t let social media consume your free time.  Don’t get drug down by every bad story on the news, whether it be political, some disaster, or some tragic story.  Look for ways to turn negatives to positives.  Look for ways to lift one another up and in turn it will energize you.  Wake up every days and see it as an opportunity to make a difference for somebody else…and it will return to you tenfold.